Chapter 48

The first boss, [Parasite Hatchery], didn’t have particularly difficult mechanics or patterns.

It felt like a warm-up boss, with mechanics and patterns slightly added from the Abyss Dungeon and various raid bosses from this season.

When it came to strategy, deciding between group survival skills (공생기) and individual survival skills (외생기) was straightforward.

To put it simply:

– Group survival skills (공생기) are buffs that affect the entire raid party.

– Individual survival skills (외생기) are buffs that only affect one person.

These survival skills become crucial in raids because having or not having them can determine the party’s survival.

For example, if the party takes a hit and all the dealers die, you use a group survival skill. If some weaker dealers still die, you use an individual survival skill. Deciding when to use these is the core of the tactic.

Our raid party, [Arang Arang], was smoothly clearing the boss.

The first day went smoothly, and by the second day, we could see the clear path. The boss’s mechanics and patterns were similar to other raid dungeons, so everyone quickly got the hang of it.

At one point, after chipping away at the boss’s HP, the 4-line pattern (4장4직 패턴) appeared. The first time we encountered it, we just spread the dealers to the four corners and got through it. But when the 4-line pattern came again, four dealers died, and their clones revived, wiping the party.

“Dealers who got the floor markers, please check the recorded footage.”

Nods all around.

“Party Leader.”

Baedeokgae raised her hand first.

“Yes.”

“After checking—”

As expected of the top [Grim Reaper], Baedeokgae’s judgment was quick. She had recorded all the debuffs she received and identified each one. After analyzing the situation, I concluded that this mechanic wasn’t particularly hard.

“If we split the straight-line attack among the remaining members, we might survive, right?”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

But another party member chimed in, “But that would force the dealers to stop dealing damage. Given the mechanic’s duration, stopping for that long could lead to a wipe.”

“Let’s try to get through this mechanic first, okay?”

“That makes sense too.”

Amid the smooth exchange of opinions, I pondered deeply.

The last straight-line attack was similar to the boss’s thorn attack from before. Back then, the stagger system hadn’t been revamped, so I parried the attack with my left arm and leg, ignoring the stagger.

“If the stagger system hadn’t been revamped, I could’ve parried through it… Ah!”

At that moment, an idea struck me.

I raised my Tashim Sword, recalling the time we defeated the Field Boss, the Corrupted Judge. Pinkubelly had saved me with her Rescue skill when I was completely staggered.

“Pinkubelly.”

“Yes?”

“When I give the signal, use your Rescue skill on me.”

“Huh? Okay.”

I deliberately ran toward the boss to get staggered.

“Arang!?”

Of course, the boss attacked me as I stood alone in front of it.

After taking a hit, my HP dropped to 70%, and I got staggered. I clenched my teeth, trying to move, but couldn’t.

“Now!”

*Bang!!!*

Right on cue, Pinkubelly’s Rescue skill hit me, freeing me from the stagger. I parried the boss’s attack without issue, though the reduced damage still killed me. Still, the experiment was a success.

I grinned and explained how we’d counter the 4-line pattern this time.

==

[Leore Gallery]

[Abyss Infiltration Raid WFK Race Begins] [1739]

(Photos)

The Abyss Infiltration Raid WFK race has begun.

Naturally, [Mea’d], who previously achieved WFK, is the favorite. Their resources and number of standby members are overwhelming from the start.

Since it’s been less than an hour since the race started, comparing progress isn’t meaningful yet, so let’s skip that.

This time, there’s a raid party from our country that’s drawing attention.

– Arang Arang Raid Party –

Our gallery owner created this raid party.

It’s a new party with no standby members and a chaotic composition, so why the attention?

Simple.

Our gallery owner has insane skills.

(Photos)

Just looking at the logs tells the story.

Before the Soma class was revamped, the logs showed an overwhelming damage gap, crushing other Somas.

The scary part? The second-place Soma is a dealer from [Mea’d].

And it’s not just Soma. The top Grim Reaper is also in our gallery owner’s party. Two world-class top dealers in one party.

[But honestly, in raids, healers matter more than dealers lol]

ㄴ[True lol, healers are essential for progress.]

[The party leader is 15 years old. Can they really lead properly? lol]

ㄴ[Dealing damage and leading a party are different.]

ㄴ[No matter how good your damage is, if you can’t handle mechanics, it’s meaningless.]

[If this were a raid with established strategies, they’d do well, but this is pure blind progression. Feels completely different.]

[Is our gallery owner streaming?] [62]

???

[Yes, Kang Hangeul is streaming.]

ㄴ[Got it, thanks.]

[Why is our gallery owner so good…?] [127]

What? Are they really 15? Not a 30-year-old uncle?

Analysis, judgment, damage—nothing’s lacking.

Watching other EU parties stream, there’s not much difference.

[They’re the ideal party leader. Analyzing mechanics, making judgments, and giving instructions—everything’s perfect.]

ㄴ[And they’re a 15-year-old middle schooler? lol Insane.]

[Breaking News: Mea’d clears first boss, Parasite Hatchery.]

As expected, Mea’d cleared the first boss.

They countered the hardest pattern, the 4-line pattern.

Four dealers get instant-death floor markers, and when they explode, the boss follows up with instant-death straight-line attacks. Tanks must take the hits for the dealers.

With only three tanks, one dealer was guaranteed to die.

Normally, you could just revive them, but this boss summons clones of dead players. So, you must clear it without anyone dying.

Mea’d placed three tanks in front of three dealers.

The remaining dealer had all healers and dealers take turns taking one tick of the straight-line attack, then stepping back.

The problem? They couldn’t deal any damage to the boss during this.

Other parties kept wiping, but Mea’d brought three pure dealers, an unprecedented composition, and cleared it.

[Mea’d is Mea’d.]

[Three pure dealers in a 12-man raid? lol How confident are their dealers?]

ㄴ[They succeeded, so it’s even more impressive lol.]

[Three pure dealers? Damn, pure dealer mains must be hyped.]

ㄴ[In reality, most parties would wipe from lack of damage lol.]

ㄴ[Mea’d’s dealers are just insanely good. Most parties can’t pull this off lol.]

[Breaking News: Arang Arang clears first boss after Mea’d.] [910]

Our gallery owner’s party, [Arang Arang], cleared the first boss right after Mea’d.

(Photos)

(Video)

What?

[Is this a dream? lol]

[A Korean party is currently in second place? lol]

ㄴ[Has this ever happened before?]

[A new party in second place? lol]

[Wow, this is crazy. Our country’s party is currently second? I’m going to watch the stream now.]

[Arang Arang Raid Party Stream Link] [160]

(Link)

[Thanks.]

[Arang Arang Raid Party 4-line Pattern Counter Video] [1273]

(Video)

First, here’s Mea’d’s counter video.

They used three tanks for three dealers, and the rest split the straight-line attacks.

(Video)

Our gallery owner’s counter video.

Instead of others taking the hits, our gallery owner parried all the attacks with just one healer’s support lol.

The rest of the party kept dealing damage, avoiding the wipe mechanic, and cleared it. Insane.

[They’re world-class at parrying.]

ㄴ[Parrying raid boss mechanics? Unbelievable.]

[And their damage is still top-tier.]

ㄴ[That’s why Soma got revamped lol.]

[Why is the healer glued to the gallery owner? Is that necessary?]

ㄴ[Yeah, was that intentional?]

[Gallery Owner’s 4-line Pattern Counter Breakdown] [162]

(Video)

Here, you can see the healer glued to the gallery owner. Why?

(Video)

Here, the gallery owner parries, and the healer throws a rope.

(Video)

The gallery owner parries the rest of the attacks.

There’s only one rope skill: Rescue.

So why did the healer use Rescue when they were right behind?

The answer is in the video.

(Video)

If you watch closely, you can see the gallery owner briefly stagger, but the healer’s Rescue skill freed them from it.

[I’ve never used Rescue, so I didn’t know this was possible lol.]

ㄴ[I don’t even remember being rescued lol.]

[Other parties need five people for this mechanic, but our gallery owner does it with two lol.]

ㄴ[This is insane lol.]

[With the rest of the party free to deal damage, they had damage to spare lol.]